In a Year
by Chi Takashi
Summary: Shisui is still Itachi's best friend. Even after the world has moved on and Itachi is left to cope with all the change.
1. Chapter 1

Hello~! Hopeless write here! Yessssh I am starting yet another project (fear not though I am not giving up on Running!) No rather this is me trying my hand at a new relationship in an AU. My lovely UnluckyKat has given me a bit of encouragement to try and make bi monthly drabbles with these two and so I will try!

I hope you enjoy!:

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Eighteen. Nearly five years to the day. So much time had passed.

"Itachi, I can practically see your thoughts." Five years. How many weeks was that. How many minutes since the decimation of his once family? "Yo. The amount of angst you're leaking right now-," Five years. Hundreds of deaths. And one spectral companion. Itachi cut said companions commentary off with a pointed look.

Today his "partner" looked fairly healthy. Healthy, being a relative term considering the other mans living status: dead. His curly hair was dry, there was still no colour to his grey complexion but at least he had eyes today. Itachi deemed his comments to be dramatized. He never looked that healthy when he was truly stressed out.

The Uchiha shifted a few documents to the "out" box. He paused, contemplating that fact that it had taken him four years to become director of the ANBU unit. His eyes scanned his dim office. It was sparsely decorated with two chairs situated in front of his desk and a bulletin board hung on the opposite wall. Behind him were two long windows that let the late afternoon sun slip into the concrete room. He had a few filing cabinets. There were no photos or indication of outside life anywhere to be found in the room. Itachi refused to taint any memories of his private life with his job.

"Oi! Itachi," the teenager sighed.

"You're not real." He spoke idly signing off on paperwork, "Talking to you would only prove counter productive in convincing everyone I do not need a psych-evaluation." His lips pressed in a hard line at the sound of his companions "Tsk." Really he knew the man before him was long dead. Clearly, he was some projection of his own ruined conscious.

"All you have to do is lighten up Itachi." he listened to the man cross the room to sit in of the chairs. "People are worried. You're young. Go out man!" Whether Itachi could say he was pleased about his appearance was thoroughly up to debate. His companion grunted softly as Itachi's taciturn silence stretched on. Quiet scraps of his sandals filled the room accompanied only by the tick of Itachi's cat clock.

Itachi repressed a reflexive jerk when his door whipped open. His expression was as stoic as ever when he followed the pair of hands that appeared aggressively appeared in his peripheral vision on his desk. He locked eyes with a particularly aggravated Shiranui Genma. Lurking behind the older jounin his companion ghosted the man's stance. Itachi noted the dirt smudged along the jaw he had once kissed.

"Pip squeak," Itachi raised his eyebrow used to the nickname, "Wolf and Monkey are going at it again." As if on cue a loud crash sounded from the next room. His companion drifted through the wall only to tumble back in doubled over laughing. Itachi could feel his eyes move to give him a reprimanding look. He was also aware of Genma's watchful expression.

"Itachi! Man you've gotta see what they did this time!" His companion's smile made something twist in Itachi's chest.

"So deal with it." Itachi replied tersely. He would just pretend not to notice the hardened look in his comrades eyes. Genma sighed after a moment, shaking his head tiredly.

"Whatever." He walked to the door pausing before opening it. "We're all going for dango later." Itachi nodded.

"Please leave your report." Itachi murmured turning back to his paperwork. They were always trying to get him to go out. Always inviting him to different gatherings. He rarely went. Social interaction had become...a chore.

"Damnit..." Genma muttered rushing out of the room. Itachi ignored him in lieu of taking in his companion's new expression.

A feeling itachi equated with some form of guilt dribble into his stomach. Quickly Itachi cleared his throat. His companion's coal eyes were too focused on him. A furrow formed between delicate eyebrows. Itachi ignored the obvious showdown taking place in the lounge next door along with the sadness set in his companion's mouth.

The silence was deafening.

"Itachi," his companion's tone was a stern. Itachi could see the disapproval in the tense lines of his companion's body language as he sat on the corner of his desk. It was a tone reserved for when he used to be a little too harsh on Sasuke. Or when he let his workaholic ways dominate his life. The way he was now. "It's time to pick Sasuke up." he said pointing to the clock. Itachi glanced at the clock

"Hn." Itachi standing, risked a glance at his companion. He smiled which only served to give Itachi's chest a hollow pang.

Five years. Hundreds of deaths. Three words and one sacrifice.

"You always over thought things." His companion laughed. It sounded distorted. Gurgled, as if choked by water. Itachi feared he could not remember his real laugh.

" Hn." Itachi ro lled his eyes. "I guess I'll take Sasuke for some dango."

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Reviews provide encouragement for the doubtful writer! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

As promised here is the second chapter to "In A Year" Shisui plays a little minor of a role in this one. But I rarely write a piece focusing on Sasuke. I hope it came out good

The title is inspired by Matchbox 20's "I'm Not Crazy"

Please enjoy~Chi

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In the academy there was one lesson they went over no matter what level you were at. Every year without fail the instructor for the year went over: How to help a comrade through PTSD. It was an intensive lesson and well...no one really understood it. Not unless you were from a clan. Then you were one of the few who dealt with if first hand.

You witnessed the breakdowns. The glazed over fear your loved ones experienced as their memories whisk away their present. You knew that you knew nothing of the horrors they had endured. You knew it was hard for them and that everyone coped in different ways. That being said it did not make it much easier.

Uchiha Sasuke could hear his brother coping. He was down the hall in the room they had turned into the study in their apartment. It sounded like a heated conversation tonight. Normally, Sasuke would brush off his brother's nightly talks but an itch had settles in his throat recently. He wanted to know who his brother was talking to. He wanted to know why he was getting worst. If he could help.

Because Uchiha Itachi was in fact heading for a meltdown. His sharp eyes always seemed to linger off into space. They were constantly focused not on the person he was talking to, rather just behind them. As if he was carrying on two conversations as once.

Sure the older Uchiha hid it well. His distraction. However, Sasuke knew his brother too well.

Rolling over in his bed Sasuke stared out the had a view of the rain drenched Konoha. He also could see his door reflected in the glass. He was worried about Itachi. He would not be around as often once he graduated from the academy in a few weeks. He also dreaded the idea of becoming like his brother. A selfish thought Sasuke tried to bury as quickly as it reared it's ugly head.

His brother was working hard to rebuild their once proud clan. Only the children were spared. At first Sasuke hated his brother for what he had done. At first he did not know the sacrifices his brother and his brother's best friend had made to save them.

Sasuke paused in his musings. It was silent. Itachi had stopped speaking.

'_Did he go to bed?_' Sasuke check the clock on his side table. '_No he couldn-_'

"WHAT COULD I DO!" Itachi's voice suddenly rang out. Sasuke shot out of bed. He was at his door in seconds wrenching it open. His feet made little sound down the hardwood floor.

"Aniki?" He questioned hesitantly in front of the shoji door. There was silence beyond the door save for a hushed rustle of papers. Sasuke's hand rested on the door handle for a moment before opening it swiftly. In the center of the room sat Itachi. Just as the soon-to-be genin pictured him to be; bent over a scroll alone. His eyes darted around the room to verify that his brother was truly along.

"Did you need something, Sasuke?" Itachi looked over his brother one eyebrow cocked in question. The bags under his eyes deepened in the flickering light of his lantern. Sasuke wondered how he had never noticed how much older his brother looked for his youthful age.

"I...er...who were you talking to?" Itachi stared at him. Sasuke could not see the emotions his brother was feeling but he knew they were there. There was a pregnant stall in conversation.

"I was just reading a letter." He finally lied lamely. Sasuke frowned nodding slowly. "I'm sorry for waking you." He murmured standing. Sasuke watched his brother's lopsided apologetic smirk stretch across his features. He braced himself for the expected jab to the forehead but it never came. "Come on otouto. Let's get some sleep." Instead he felt a warm arm wrap protectively around his slim shoulders. Sasuke watched his brother with surprise in his eyes. He caught Itachi's eyes flicker for a second too someone just over his head.

"Yeah." He said walking back towards his room. "Itachi, if you ever need to talk..." he said softly facing his door.

"I know Sasuke." He felt Itachi place a kiss in his unruly spikes. A blush crept over his cheeks. He still treated him like a little kid. Who ever held his brother's attention. He knew he was competing a with a ghost. And it brought out a different side of Itachi. A side he rarely saw much of anymore. Sasuke listened to Itachi disappearing into his own room before turning away from his door.

"You're not crazy, Aniki." Sasuke crossed the hall to step inside Itachi's room. He crawled under his covers curling tight to his brother like they did when they were small. Before it all went to shit. '_I'm going to help you. No matter how bad you get._'

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I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 8 of "Running" should be up before the next installment for this. If you have any ideas for this story shoot'em my way^_^


	3. Sorry for the Delay

To my dearest Readers,

Gosh I hate these types of updates. They don't even count! However, the point of this update is to inform you the reason of my real updates delay: my laptop screen is almost completely destroyed! So I have been waiting to figure out a means of typing the new chapters. The good news is I now have a temporary monitor! Yaaay so hopefully this writer can get the ball rolling again! Thank you for all your support so far! Much love - Chi


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